[give one short shrift] See: SHORT SHRIFT.
[give oneself airs]{v. phr.} To act proud; act vain. •/Mary gave herself airs when she wore her new dress./ •/John gave himself airs when he won first prize./
[give oneself away]{v. phr.} To show guilt; show you have done wrong. •/The thief gave himself away by spending so much money./ •/Carl played a joke on Bob and gave himself away by laughing./ Compare: GIVE AWAY.
[give oneself up]{v.} To stop hiding or running away; surrender. •/The thief gave himself up to the police./ •/Mr. Thompson hit another car, and his wife told him to give himself up./ Compare: TURN IN.
[give oneself up to]{v. phr.} Not to hold yourself back from; let yourself enjoy. •/Uncle Willie gave himself up to a life of wandering./ •/John came inside from the cold and gave himself up to the pleasure of being in a warm room./ Compare: ENJOY ONESELF, LET ONESELF GO.
[give one some of his] or [her own medicine] {v. phr.} To treat someone the way he or she treats others (used in the negative). •/The gangster beat up an innocent old man, so when he resisted arrest, a policeman gave him a little of his own medicine./
[give one’s due]{v. phr.} To be fair to (a person), give credit that (a person) deserves. •/The boxer who lost gave the new champion his due./ •/We should give a good worker his due./ Compare: GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE.
[give one’s right arm for]{v. phr.} To give something of great value; sacrifice. •/During our long hike in the desert, I would have given my right arm for an ice cold drink./
[give one’s word]{v. phr.} To seriously promise. •/"You gave me your word you would marry me," Mary bitterly complained, "but you broke your word."/
[give one the eye]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To look at, especially with interest and liking. •/A pretty girl went by and all the boys gave her the eye./ 2. To look or stare at, especially in a cold or unfriendly way. •/Mrs. Jones didn’t like Mary and didn’t speak. She just gave her the eye when they met on the street./
[give one the works] See: THE WORKS.
[give or take]{v. phr.} To add or subtract. Used with a round number or date to show how approximate it is. •/The house was built in 1900, give or take five years./
[give out]{v.} 1. To make known; let it be known; publish. •/Mary gave out that she and Bob were going to be married./ 2. To let escape; give. •/The cowboy gave out a yell./ Syn.: GIVE OFF, LET GO. 3. to give to people; distribute. •/The barber gives out free lollipops to all the children./ Compare: HAND OUT, PASS OUT. 4. To fail; collapse. •/Tom’s legs gave out and he couldn’t run any farther./ •/The chair gave out under the fat man./ Compare: WEAR OUT. 5. To be finished or gone. •/When the food at the party gave out, they bought more./ •/The teacher’s patience gave out./ Syn.: RUN OUT, RUN SHORT. Compare: USE UP, WEAR OUT. 6. {slang} Not to hold back; act freely; let yourself go. — Often used in the imperative. •/You’re not working hard, Charley. Give out!/ 7. {informal} To show how you feel. •/When Jane saw the mouse, she gave out with a scream./ •/Give out with a little smile./ Compare: LET GO.
[give pause]{v. phr.} To cause you to stop and think; make you doubt or worry. •/The heavy monthly payments gave Mr. Smith pause in his plans to buy a new car./ •/The bad weather gave Miss Carter pause about driving to New York City./
[give place to] See: GIVE RISE TO.
[give rein to] or [give free rein to] {v. phr.} To remove all restrictions or limitations from someone or something. •/When she wrote her first mystery novel, the talented novelist gave rein to her imagination./
[give rise to]{v. phr.} To be the reason for; cause. •/A branch floating in the water gave rise to Columbus' hopes that land was near./ •/John’s black eye gave rise to rumors that he had been in a fight./
[give someone his rights] or [read someone his rights] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. The act of advising arrested criminals that they have the right to remain silent and that everything they say can be held against them in a court of law; that they have the right to the presence of an attorney during questioning and that if they can’t afford one and request it, an attorney will be appointed for them by the State. •/The cops gave Smith his rights immediately after the arrest./ 2. To sever a relationship by telling someone that he or she can go and see a divorce lawyer or the like. •/Sue gave Mike his rights before she slammed the door in his face./ Compare: READ THE RIOT ACT.
[give the air] See: GIVE THE BOUNCE(1).
[give the ax]{v. phr.}, {colloquial} 1. Abruptly to finish a relationship. •/She gave me the ax last night./ 2. To fire an employee in a curt manner. •/His boss gave John the ax last Friday./
[give the benefit of the doubt]{v. phr.} To believe (a person) is innocent rather than guilty when you are not sure. •/The money was stolen and John was the only boy who had known where it was, but the teacher gave him the benefit of the doubt./ •/George’s grade was higher than usual and he might have cheated, but his teacher gave him the benefit of the doubt./
[give the bounce] or [give the gate] {v. phr.}, {slang} 1. or [give the air] To stop being a friend or lover to (a person); separate from. •/Mary gave John the bounce after she saw him dating another girl./ •/Bill and Jane had an argument and Bill is giving her the gate./ 2. or [give the sack] also [give the hook] To fire from a job; dismiss. •/The ball team gave Joe the gate because he never came to practice./ Contrast: GET THE BOUNCE.
[give the creeps] See: THE CREEPS.
[give the devil his due]{v. phr.} To be fair, even to someone who is bad; tell the truth about a person even though you don’t like him, •/I don’t like Mr. Jones, but to give the devil his due, I must admit that he is a good teacher./
[give the gate] See: GIVE THE BOUNCE.
[give the glad eye]{v. phr.}, {slang} To give (someone) a welcoming look as if saying "come over here, I want to talk to you." •/I was surprised when Joe gave me the glad eye./
[give the go-by]{v. phr.} To pay no attention to a person; avoid. •/John fell in love with Mary, but she gave him the go-by./ •/The boy raised his hand to answer the question, but the teacher gave him the go-by./ Compare: THE RUNAROUND.
[give the high sign] See: HIGH SIGN.
[give the hook] See: GIVE THE BOUNCE(2).
[give the lie to]{v. phr.}, {literary} 1. To call (someone) a liar. •/The police gave the lie to the man who said that he had been at home during the robbery./ 2. To show (something) to be false; prove untrue. •/The boy’s dirty face gave the lie to his answer that he had washed./
[give the sack] See: GIVE THE BOUNCE(2).
[give the shirt off one’s back]{v. phr.}, {informal} To give away something or everything that you own. •/He’d give you the shirt off his back./
[give the show away]{v. phr.} To reveal a plan or information that is supposed to be secret. •/You have read further in the book than I have, but please don’t tell me where the treasure was buried; otherwise you’d be giving the show away./
[give the slip]{v.} To escape from (someone); run away from unexpectedly; sneak away from. •/An Indian was following, but Boone gave him the slip by running down a hill./ •/Some boys were waiting outside the school to beat up Jack, but he gave them the slip./
[give signs of] See: SHOW SIGN(S) OF; SHOW NO SIGN OF.
[give the willies]{v. phr.} To cause someone to be uncomfortable, fearful, or nervous. •/Sue hates to camp out in a tent; the buzzing of the mosquitoes gives her the willies./
[give thought to]{v. phr.} To consider; think about. •/Have you given any thought to the question of how to sell Grandpa’s old house?/ Contrast: GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT.
[give to understand]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To make a person think that something is true but not tell him; suggest; hint. •/Mr. Johnson gave Billy to understand that he would pay him if he helped him clean the yard./ 2. To make a person understand by telling him very plainly or boldly. •/Frank was given to understand in a short note from the boss that he was fired./
[give up]{v.} 1a. To stop trying to keep; surrender; yield. •/The dog had the ball in his mouth and wouldn’t give it up./ •/Jimmy is giving up his job as a newsboy when he goes back to school./ Compare: GIVE ONESELF UP, HAND OVER, LET GO(1a). Contrast: HOLD ON TO. 1b. To allow; permit. •/Ford gave up two walks in the first inning./ 2. To stop doing or having; abandon; quit. •/The doctor told Mr. Harris to give up smoking./ •/Jane hated to give up her friends when she moved away./ Compare: LEAVE OFF, PART WITH. 3. To stop hoping for, waiting for, or trying to do. •/Johnny was given up by the doctors after the accident, but he lived just the same./ •/When Mary didn’t come by nine o’clock, we gave her up./ •/I couldn’t do the puzzle so I gave it up./ 4. To stop trying; quit; surrender. •/The war will be over when one of the countries gives up./ •/The other team gave up after we scored three touchdowns./ Compare: GIVE IN(2), RESIGN ONESELF, THROW IN THE SPONGE.
[give (one) up for]{v. phr.} To abandon hope for someone or something. •/After Larry had not returned to base camp for three nights, his fellow mountain climbers gave him up for dead./
[give up the ghost]{v. phr.} To die; stop going. •/After a long illness, the old woman gave up the ghost./ •/The motor turned over a few times and gave up the ghost./
[give up the ship]{v. phr.} To stop fighting and surrender; stop trying or hoping to do something. •/"Don’t give up the ship, John," said his father when John failed a test./
[give voice]{v. phr.}, {formal} To tell what you feel or think; especially when you are angry or want to object. — Used with "to". •/The students gave voice to their pleasure over the new building./ •/Little Willie gave voice to his pain when the dog bit him by crying loudly./ Compare: CRY OUT, SPEAK OUT.
[give way]{v.} 1. To go back; retreat. •/The enemy army is giving way before the cannon fire./ Compare: FALL BACK. 2. To make room, get out of the way. •/The children gave way and let their mother through the door./ Compare: MAKE WAY. 3. To lose control of yourself; lose your courage or hope; yield. •/Mrs. Jones didn’t give way during the flood, but she was very frightened./ Compare: GIVE UP, LOSE ONE’S HEAD. 4. To collapse; fail. •/The river was so high that the dam gave way./ •/Mary’s legs gave way and she fainted./ Compare: GIVE OUT(4), LET GO(1a). 5. To let yourself be persuaded; give permission. •/Billy kept asking his mother if he could go to the movies and she finally gave way./ Compare: GIVE IN.
[give way to]{v. phr.} 1a. To make room for; allow to go or pass; yield to. •/John gave way to the old lady and let her pass./ 1b. To allow to decide. •/Mrs. Rogers gave way lo her husband in buying the car./ 1c. To lose control of (your feelings), not hold back. •/Timmy gave way to his feelings when his dog died./ 2. or [give place to]. To be replaced by. •/Radio has given way to television in popularity./ •/When she saw the clowns, the little girl’s tears gave way lo laughter./
[glad hand]{n.}, {informal} A friendly handshake; a warm greeting. •/Father went to the front door to give Uncle Fred the glad hand when he arrived./ •/The politician went down the street on election day giving everyone the glad hand./
[glad rags]{n.}, {slang} Clothes worn to parties or on special occasions; best clothes. •/Mrs. Owens put on her glad rags for the party./ Compare: BEST BIB AND TUCKER.
